Iraq is facing an intensifying water crisis, driven by a combination of environmental and human-induced factors. Climate change impacts led to strain on water availability. A significant decline in Euphrates and Tigris Rivers discharge is further exacerbated by the transboundary water flow control by neighbouring countries, which severely restrict the volume of water reaching Iraq. Beyond water scarcity, inadequate and fragmented water resources management further aggravates the situation. Inefficient allocation practices, limited monitoring and planning capacities, and weak coordination between institutions contribute to unsustainable use of available water resources. In response to these pressing challenges, the Government of Iraq has initiated efforts to strengthen climate resilience and promote sustainable water resources management. However, it faces challenges in prioritizing and mobilizing the investments. In recognition of the urgent need for a climate-resilient approach to managing water resources in Iraq, the implementation of a new project has been agreed between the Federal Governments of Iraq and Germany. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) commissioned GIZ to implement the "Climate-Resilient Water Resources Management (CWRM) project. CWRM started its activities in April 2025 and will probably end in September 2026. The project aims to strengthen the technical and institutional capacity of the Ministry of Water Resources for the climate-resilient management of the Hillah River. This project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR). Hillah River System has been designated as a pilot region for enhancing climate-resilient water resources management in Iraq. This vital watercourse, branches off from the Euphrates River, traverses the provinces of Babylon, Diwaniyah, and Muthanna, and is confronted with considerable challenges related to water allocation and distribution. Project approach: The project supports the ministry in the following areas: - Improvement of the Water Resources Information Systems (Output 1): Upgrading monitoring infrastructure, improving data management and sharing, and water quality and distribution tracking along the Hillah River. - Strengthening Methodological and Technical Capacities for Climate-Resilient Planning and Water Allocation (Output 2): Developing water accounting tool, and calibrated model to inform provincial water resources allocation. This also involves scenario modeling, artificial intellegence (AI) integration, and establishing governance frameworks for strategic decision-making. The project also supports planning, adaptation strategies, and long-term planning in response to climate change. - Capacity Development (Output 3): This cross-cutting theme focuses on building the capacity of the MoWR staff. It includes upgrading the MoWR training center, delivering trainings on climate-resilient water resources management, and facilitating participation in international conferences. Special emphasis is placed on promoting female specialists and managers within the ministry. - Reuse of Drainage Water (Output 4): Feasible options for reusing drainage water as an unconventional water resource will be identified through analysis of international, regional, and local experiences. The MoWR will be supported in assessing and prioritizing potential uses, and a bankable project proposal for a demonstration plant will be developed.

10000203 - Consultancy on Drainage Water Reuse

The objective of this assignment is to support the Ministry of Water Resources in identifying and prioritising technically, environmentally, and economically feasible options for the reuse of drainage water in the Hillah River System and to prepare a concept for two pilot projects that can serve as a demonstration for future replication. The contractor is responsible for providing the following work packages and for achieving the corresponding milestones: Work package 1: Assessment of irrigation practices and drainage-water generation The contractor is responsible for conducting a comprehensive assessment of current irrigation systems and their relationship to drainage-water generation in the Hillah River System. This includes reviewing existing irrigation methods such as surface, sprinkler, and drip irrigation including the (efficient) use of fertilizer; quantifying irrigation efficiency and related drainage-water volumes and qualities; and analysing the institutional management of irrigation operations. The contractor shall perform a scenario analysis comparing current and improved irrigation and fertilizing practices and quantify how increased irrigation efficiency and better use of fertilizer would affect the volume and quality of drainage water. The analysis shall include different scenarios for climate adaptation measures. The results shall be visualised in maps and datasets to be included in the (designed) Information System with the Hillah River Information System (Outcome Indicator). Work package 2: Identification and prioritisation of reuse options and treatment technologies GIZ shall provide the contractor with a baseline assessment identifying feasible end-uses for treated drainage water, including agricultural reuse, aquaculture, industrial applications, landscape irrigation, and groundwater recharge. The baseline assessment will also include a review of relevant international and regional experiences (e.g. Jordan, Egypt, Iran, and FAO"s WaPOR programme) and initial lessons learned applicable to the Iraqi context. The contractor shall build upon and complete the baseline assessment provided by GIZ by validating and further developing the identified drainage water reuse options relevant to the Iraqi context. This includes assessing a range of conventional treatment technologies as well as nature-based solutions (NbS) suitable for high-salinity and contaminated drainage water in arid environments, using a multi-criteria approach that considers technical feasibility, operational requirements, costs, environmental risks, and institutional capacities. Different potential options (managerial, biological, physical, non-physical) should be discussed and presented in an "option report". The contractor shall ensure that MoWR and key institutions are engaged throughout the assessment process as part of a structured capacity development approach. As part of this process, the contractor shall facilitate targeted learning and exchange activities. These include the organisation of a study tour for MoWR to visit relevant international or regional good practices, as well as an international seminar or conference in Baghdad in which international and regional actors present their experiences and discuss their applicability to the Iraqi context. The contractor shall prepare a bilingual publication summarising these experiences and the insights obtained. In addition, the contractor shall design and deliver two training courses in close cooperation with the MoWR Training Center: (i) a foundational training course on treatment technologies for drainage water reuse, covering technical principles, performance, and operational aspects; and (ii) an advanced training course focusing specifically on drainage water reuse concepts and Nature-based Solutions (NbS), including design considerations, applicability in arid environments, and integration into water management planning. The consultant together with the GIZ team will support the MoWR in identifying 2 pilot projects to be implemented in the Hilla River area. Work package 3: Preparation of pilot project concepts Building on the findings of the previous work packages, the contractor shall support the development of a pre-fesibility (PFS) and a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for two pilot demonstration solutions. This task includes together with the GIZ team and the counterpart identifying suitable pilot locations based on hydrological, land-use, and environmental criteria; proposing a treatment and reuse scheme; and estimating costs and requirements, and potential financing options. The contractor shall analyze the financing criteria, eligibility requirements, and procedural steps of BMZ and EU co-financing instruments relevant to the implementation of pilot projects on drainage water reuse. Based on this analysis, the contractor shall develop and assess two distinct pilot project options: - a small-scale pilot project designed to comply with BMZ funding criteria, with an indicative financing volume of up to EUR 1 million (up to feasibility level); and - a larger-scale pilot project designed to comply with EU financing criteria, with an indicative financing volume of up to EUR 25 million (up to pre-feasibility level). For the implementation of these tasks, the tenderer is required to provide 4 core experts (1 team leader and 3 technical experts with a total of 330 expert days).